No direct Wrexham to London trains as regulator rejects bid for second time in 15 months

A bid to run direct trains between Wrexham and London Euston has been rejected by the rail regulator for a second time.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has turned down an application from the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway Company (WSMR) to run four return services a day between Wrexham General and London Euston.

In its decision letter, the ORR said: “We consider a timetable may theoretically be constructed for WSMR’s services.”

But it concluded that “WSMR could not be accommodated at present without a substantial detriment to users of the line”.

The regulator also rejected an application from Lumo for services between Rochdale and Euston, and most of an application from Avanti West Coast, including extra services between Blackpool and Euston.

“Limited resilience”

Stephanie Tobyn, the ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, said: “New services, destinations and greater choice can bring real benefits for passengers and communities. But the West Coast Main Line is already under significant pressure, with performance reflecting limited resilience on a heavily used part of the rail network.

“Our detailed analysis has shown that adding more trains to the current timetable would reduce the ability to recover when disruption occurs, increasing the risk of delays spreading and making reliability of the network worse for all passengers.”

Wrexham’s MP disappointed

Wrexham MP Andrew Ranger said:  “Today’s announcement from the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) that Wrexham Shropshire Midlands Railway (WSMR)’s application for a direct train route from Wrexham to London has been rejected, is a huge disappointment.

“WSMR had widespread support for their bid from Wrexham County Borough Council and other key stakeholders in our city, which we took to Downing Street back in March to show the strength of feeling.

“Together with Julia Buckley MP and other parliamentary colleagues, I have met with the rail minister Lord Hendy as well as representatives from WSMR to discuss the proposed route and the benefits that it would bring in connecting Wrexham to the capital with more frequent direct trains but also a more regular direct train service to the West Midlands. It was one of the only open access rail bids to have approval of the Department of Transport, so it is disappointing that the independent ORR regulator decided not to give it the go ahead.

“I remain committed to ensuring Wrexham has opportunities for connections that will support jobs, tourism, education and growth. I will continue to make this case and with the nationalisation of the West Coast mainline provider and Great British Railways there will undoubtedly be more prospects for Wrexham.”

Two-year campaign

WSMR’s first application, for five return services a day, was rejected by the ORR in July 2025.

At the time, Wrexham Council deputy leader Cllr David A Bithell said: “Although I am disappointed the ORR have rejected the initial proposal, we are not giving up.”

WSMR, part of the Alstom group, reapplied in December 2025 with the council’s backing.

In March, a delegation including MPs, council leaders and business representatives travelled to Downing Street to press for government support. A petition started by Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley passed 5,500 signatures.

What the decision letter says

WSMR applied in November 2025 “to run four (three firm rights, one contingent right) return trains from Wrexham General to London Euston on a 6.5-year contract”, the letter said.

Network Rail objected. The ORR said Network Rail found that “all the proposed paths had conflicts against the base timetable”.

The letter said Network Rail “expressed particular concern that WSMR’s plans would use firebreak paths and could be accommodated only with significant retiming of other services in the same area”.

Firebreaks are gaps left in the timetable so services can recover when there is disruption.

The ORR said WSMR and Lumo “dispute the need for firebreaks in the timetable” and argued their evidence showed they had “robust performing timetable plans”.

In June 2026, WSMR submitted evidence it had commissioned. The ORR said: “Our view is that the WSMR report does not demonstrate the proposed WSMR timetable can be robustly accommodated within the existing timetable structure.”

It said its own external report “reinforces our concern that using the WSMR proposed paths would further increase risks to resilience and performance unless the wider timetable is reviewed and rolling stock assumptions are resolved”.

The regulator said it had to consider whether the application was “implementable, compliant with industry rules, resilient within the current structure, and acceptable for existing users under both normal and disrupted conditions”.

It added: “Since July 2025, punctuality on the WCML South has indeed continued to decline.”

Chester service approved
The ORR approved one part of Avanti’s application. Its weekday 19:29 service from Chester to London Euston, which already runs as a fully crewed empty train, can carry passengers until December 2030.

The letter said that path “aligns closely with at least one of the aspirational WCML South paths sought by other (open access) applicants”. It said granting Avanti the right “would not actually introduce an additional movement” on the line.

WSMR objected to Avanti’s application, the letter said, and “particularly argued that its own proposals should be accommodated instead”.

In December, Mr Ranger wrote to the ORR asking it to reconsider the removal of the 19:32 service between Chester and London Euston in that month’s timetable change.